Study: Prolonged Violent Game Exposure Increases Aggressivity

The effects on the mind are compared to those of smoking

Violence test

A new study conducted by teams of researchers from Universite Pierre-Mendes-France with help from analysts at Ohio State University and the University of Hohenheim shows that prolonged exposure to violent video games increases aggressivity in players and encourages them to see the world through a more violent filter.

The study saw 70 students exposed to violent titles, like Condemned 2 and Call of Duty 4, or passive experiences, like DiRT 2 and Pure, for 20 minutes.

They were then asked to complete the ending of a story and those who played violent games tended to choose more aggressive options.

Another evaluation included a series of tests with a noise blast available for the player and players of violent titles were more willing to use it in order to impair their opponents.

The study concluded: “people who played a violent video game for three consecutive days showed increases in aggressive behaviour and hostile expectations each day they played. Meanwhile, those who played non-violent games showed no meaningful changes in aggression or hostile expectations over that period.”